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The spectacle of realism: special effects at Ealing Studios, 1940–45

2019; Oxford University Press; Volume: 60; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/screen/hjz006

1460-2474

Keith M. Johnston, Carolyn Rickards,

Art History and Market Analysis

In 1940, British cameraman and technician Roy Kellino was asked by Michael Balcon, the head of Ealing Studios, to create a model department that would help to deliver the range of special effects required at the studio. Reflecting on this in 1943, Kellino discusses how he had to overhaul the existing resources at Ealing, bringing in new approaches and employees to create substantial working models of the military aircraft and transport vehicles needed for the studio's wartime films: As each picture is finished, the models that have been used on it are returned to the shops for repair and so are ready for future use […] not only were our costs lowered but the standard of our work was raised. By retaining the same personnel in all departments from picture to picture our efficiency grew […] Chippies, electricians and grips alike contributed to the finished production.1 While his focus on camaraderie, craftsmanship and efficiency may recall traditional accounts of Ealing’s collaborative cottage-industry approach to filmmaking, Kellino’s account makes visible the studio’s regular use of illusionistic special effects, an aspect of production that challenges the Ealing legacy of low-budget, restrained and documentary-realist production.2 Using the case study of Ealing Studios’ wartime use of special effects, we argue that the invisibility of such work within histories of Ealing can be seen as part of a larger absence of special-effects work in histories of British cinema and beyond.